Interview with Chad Howat of Paper Route

 If you didn’t catch Paper Route’s The Peace of Wild Things during its celebrated release last year, then here’s your chance to make up for the missed opportunity. Paper Route is currently offering the much buzzed about album here on NoiseTrade in its entirety. Their dance rock guitars, sizzling synth grooves and slick beats play the perfect foil for the emotive vocals and rich songwriting found within each track. 

Paper Route is currently out supporting The Peace of Wild Things with Imagine Dragons and you can find their full list of show dates HERE.

   

I recently spoke with Paper Route’s Chad Howat about The Peace of Wild Things, tour life and Wendell Berry. 

NoiseTrade: You guys are currently out on tour with Imagine Dragons and then have a nice run of solo shows following that. What's included on your personal pro/con list regarding tour life? 

Chad Howat: Pros would be local food/coffee/drinks from a variety of interesting and unique cities around the world. Our guitarist, Josh, always finds the best local breakfast place and that's always the first priority of the day. Cons would be lack of sleep and lack of personal space. There’s less time to be creative. Also, not having phone service in other countries. 

NT: By the time an album finally gets released to the masses, bands/artists have usually already started planning for their next adventure. What's been brewing in the Paper Route camp post-release of The Peace of Wild Things? 

Chad: We've toyed around with a few different ideas but right now it seems like trying to block off time to start writing a new album. We want our third LP to be the best yet so we are anxious to see what pours out of us this time. We have a few other auxiliary ideas we want to do but right now writing seems to be the first thing after touring. 

NT: Prior to the album's release, you mentioned that this was the first time you were ever nervous about the content of your songwriting. This far out, has the feeling changed with night-after-night shows and fan feedback? 

Chad: We aren't nervous anymore. Jitters are common anytime you are about to release something to the public. The songs are vulnerable and honest and JT's voice is front and center. There's not much to hide behind on this album. The feedback has been great, though. People come up and will say "this is my favorite song of the last year" or things like that, and the cool thing is that I think we've heard that about every single song on the album. People aren't gravitating to one song and one song only, for better or worse. We've released probably 40 or 50 songs so far in our career and I don't think you'll ever get fans to agree on which is their favorite. I think that's a good thing. 

NT: The Peace of Wild Things shares its title with a Wendell Berry poem. Was that a direct nod to him and if so, how has his work influenced the band? 

Chad: It was absolutely a nod to him. Jayber Crow was our favorite book when making Absence and when it came time to title this album, his poem popped into our heads. The title seemed to sum up the previous 2 years of making this album. 

NT: All three of you have multiple creative outlets outside of Paper Route. How do you decide what is/isn't a good fit for Paper Route and what else can your fans being looking forward to from these other endeavors? 

Chad: I think Paper Route is all of first loves. We get to express what we are feeling inside and we are in control of everything from start to finish. JT put out his solo record at a time when he needed to release something for sanity's sake and he had mine and Gavin’s support in doing so. I'm always trying to write and whether or not those things become Paper Route songs remains to be seen. We try to play to our strengths and if a song feels like a "happy accident,” then it's usually a Paper Route contender. If it feels well-crafted, but is missing the je ne sais quoi, then it probably needs to get destroyed and reborn to have a shot. Sorry for the tangent… fans can expect us to tour hard for a few more months, and then we will figure out our next step.